Quick Montreal Experience

[ScenicRte]

We will be in Montreal for just an afternoon and evening in the second or third week of August. Are there certain MUST-SEE's for a person who loves experiencing off-the-beaten-track nooks. If anyone has some inside information about Montreal that you wouldn't necessarily find in a guide book, I'm all ears. Thanks.

[Quebec Gen]

Off the beaten path? Hum, it depends on what your interests are. There are surely a lot of places to discover. Just give me more details and I'll try to find a few places for you.

Must sees that are not necessarily off the beaten path:

• Mont Royal (observatory, pic-nis area) and Oratoire St Joseph
• Olympic Stadium
• Old Port/Old Montreal (place Jacques-Cartier, Basilique Notre-Dame)
• Latin Quarter (St-Denis St. (pubs, restaurants))
• Ste. Catherine St (boutiques)
• St. Laurent St between Sherbrooke and Mt-Royal at night (upscales nightclubs and restaurants)
• Intercultural Festival of Montreal at Notre-Dame Island June 25th to Aug 14th
• Jet Boating on the Lachine Rapids
• Crescent St. at night (bars & restaurants)
• Planétarium on St. Jacques St.
• Plateau Mont Royal (very in and popular part of town, kind of artsy, Bagel St-Viateur, le Pistou restaurant, boutiques, etc.)
• Montreal Casino on Notre-Dame Island
• Musée d'art contemporain (Contemporary Art) at Place des Arts and Musée des Beaux Arts
• Hot Air Balloon Festival in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (15-20 minutes east of Mtl) from Aug 13 to 22
• FestiBlues from Aug 19-22 at Parc Ahunstic
• Mtl World Film Festival at the end of August
• La Ronde (theme park) at Ste Helene Island
• Fleurs et trompettes de Montreal on Ste Helene Island Aug 6th and 7th (flowers and trumpets)
• FrancoFolies from July 28th to Aug 6th (French canadian bands, singers, etc.)
• Fort Stewart Museum at Ste Helene Island
• Botanic Garden on Pie IX St.
• Bicycle path starting from the Old Port to the Jacques Villeneuve circuit (N-D Island) or Canal Lachine
• Queues de castors at La Ronde or at the Old Port (sweet pastries)

More off the beaten path events or destinations:

• Gay Village (drag queens comedy shows at Mado's (mixed crowd gay/straight), dessert at Kilo's, pastas at La Strega, pubs & great restaurants)
• Westmount Belvedere
• Underground city
• Ghost Trail - Old Port from Aug 29th to Oct
• Israeli Folk Dancing west of Maison Smith, Mount Royal
• Tam Tam Jam Sessions every Sunday at the base of Mount Royal at the Statue (on Parc St.)
• The Salsafolie Sundays at King Edward Wharf Old Port
• St-Henri quarter : factory working part of town, kind of poor, vividly described by Gabrielle Roy in her popular novel The Tin Flute
• Petite Italie (little Italy) for good coffe try Caffè Epoca
• 737 Nightclub at the top of Place Ville-Marie (incredible view on the terrace)
• Chez Toqué Restaurant (French)
• Pho Bang New York (Vietnamese) on the Corner of St. Laurent and Viger
• Est Asie (Japanese) on Ste Catherine East
• Ste-Anne de Bellevue (west island)
• Habitat 67 on Notre-Dame Island
• La Binerie on Mont-Royal St. (Quebec sugar shack styled food)
• Ex Centris Movie Theater
• Orange Julep (on Decarie near Blue Bonnets or on Sherbrooke East) (Home made food, old fashion)

Cheapest lodging in Montreal :

-residences at University of Montreal or at the Oratoire St Joseph (30-35 bucks Can a night for a single room)

Whew! If you have specific demands, don't be shy to ask (subway stations, roads, lodging, etc), I'm here to help. It's kind of hard to guess what you mean by off the beaten path when I don't know what exactly you are looking for.:-)

Have a great trip!

Gen